Wrapping machine



Nov. 22, 1938. A, G. ROSE WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Sept, 7, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 MI/I/G/ VWWM/ Nov. 22, 1938. A. G. ROSE Y 2,137,656

WRAPPING MACHINE Filed Sept. 7,. 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 22, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIE WRAPPING MACHINE Application September 7, 1937, Serial No. 162,808 In Great Britain September 14, 1936 8 Claims.

This invention relates to wrapping machines of the type comprising a rotatable pocket-wheel provided with a plurality of receiving pockets and movable intermittently to carry each pocket in turn up to a succession of stations at which the various operations involved in enclosing an article in a wrapper are effected.

Usually in this type of machine when any one of the wheel pockets is brought temporarily to one of the stations, hereinafter referred to as the feed station, an article and wrapper are pushed into the pocket and by this movement the sides of the pocket fold the wrapper on to three sides of the article. Two fiat portions of the wrapper extend outwardly from the pocket and a portion of the wrapper projects sideways beyond each end of the article. Folding means serve to fold the two fiat portions of the wrapper one after the other on to the outer and hitherto uncovered side of the article. After each pocket with the article and wrapper held therein has been carried from the feed station, means is provided at a succeeding station to fold or grip and twist the portions of the wrapper extending sideways beyond the ends of the article and finally the completely wrapped article is ejected from its pocket.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved wrapping machine of the type referred to, which is adapted to Wrap articles such as sweetmeats or the like, the shapes and sizes of which vary within given limits and also articles of a very fragile or delicate nature such as chocolates or sweetmeats having soft centres.

According to this invention a wrapping machine of the type referred to is characterized by the provision of a single control means common to the several pockets of the pocket-wheel and operable at will to vary, simultaneously in all the pockets, the receiving capacity of each.

In one construction according to the invention each of the wheel pockets comprises a pair of relatively movable gripper jaws interconnected by a toggle linkage, and the aforesaid single control means comprises a cam which is angularly adjustable with respect to the pocket-wheel about the axis of rotation of the latter and which is arranged to operate simultaneously on the toggle linkages associated with the several pockets to effect an adjustment in the minimum separation between the jaws of each pocket. The machine may include spring means bearing on the toggle linkage and tending to move the pocket jaws towards one another, and a follower on the linkage engaging the angularly adjustable cam to limit the degree of approach of the pocket jaws to an extent determined by the setting of the cam.

The machine may include striker mechanism operable on the toggle linkages associated with the wheel pockets periodically to open the gripper jaws, said mechanism being actuated by means (for example push rods, the effective lengths of which may be varied) which are adjustable to vary the timing of the strikers to compensate for any variation effected in the minimum separation between the jaws of the pockets.

An example of the invention, as applied to a wrapping machine adapted for wrapping sweetmeats, will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figures 1 and 2 are elevations at right-angles to each other showing those portions of the machine in which the invention is embodied.

The drawings are to some extent diagrammatic and in each certain parts have been omitted for the sake of clearness.

The machine illustrated is of known type comprising a rotatable pocket wheel ll mounted for intermittent rotational movement about a horizontal axis l I. The pocket-Wheel is provided with peripheral receiving pockets l2 each of which is constituted by a pair of relatively movable jaws l3, M. In the present example there are four pockets arranged at equally spaced angular intervals, and the pocket-wheel is so driven (by known mechanism, not illustrated) as to move through one quarter of a revolution at each step. The sweetmeats to be Wrapped are fed, for example by hand, into recesses [5 arranged in a circumferential series around a circular horizontal plate [6 which is rotatable about a vertical axis step by step in timed sequence with the rotation of the pocket-wheel in such manner as to bring each of the recesses E5 in succession into a position beneath the pocket wheel and in register with the pocket temporarily arrested at the feed station 1. e. vertically below the axis of the pocket-wheel. The mechanism for feeding the sweetmeats one at a time from the plate l6 into the pocket-wheel is of known type and comprises a vertically reciprocatable pusher ll which operates, in timed sequence with the pocket-wheel, to lift each sweetmeat Hi from the recess IS in the feed plate I6 and force it into one of the wheel pockets.

The wrappers are constituted by successive portions in the length of a continuous strip 69 traversed intermittently past the feed station between the pocket Wheel and the feed plate i6.

Cutter mechanism 20 operates, in timed sequence with the pocket-wheel, to sever the leading portion of the wrapper strip 19 at about the same instant as the sweetmeat IS in its upward travel meets the paper. A transfer finger 2| is arranged to engage the upper surface of the wrapper over the sweetmeat so that during upward travel of the pusher, the sweetmeat and its wrapper are gripped between the transfer finger and the upper end of the pusher. During further upward movement of the pusher the sweetmeat and its wrapper are carried through a stationary guide 22 and into the wheel pocket, during which movement the wrapper is folded about two sides of the sweetmeat. During step by step rotational movement of the pocket-wheel the remaining folding operations, comprising the folding of the wrapper onto the exposed front side of the sweetmeat, and the closing of the end portions of the wrapper by twisting or folding, are carried out in known manner and the completely wrapped sweetmeat is finally ejected from the pocketwheel at an ejection station 23, at which each pocket is arrested immediately before it proceeds to the feed station.

The jaws i3, M, constituting each pocket are carried on the outer ends of two arms 24, 25 which are pivotally mounted at their inner ends on the pocket-wheel. Each jaw is on a screwthreaded stem 2% by means of which the initial setting of each jaw in relation to its supporting arm may be adjusted, and after adjustment, locked in position. The arms 26, 25 appropriate to each pocket are interconnected by a single toggle linkage 2T, 28, the pivotal connection between the links carrying a block 2?. which is slidable in a radial guide slot 39 in the pocket-wheel. A coiled compression spring 3i is located between the inner end of the sliding block 29 and the inner end of the guide slot 35 and tends to force the sliding block outwardly and thus to draw the two jaws of the pocket towards one another through the intermediary of the toggle linkage. The extent to which the jaws may be forced towards one another under the action of the spring Si is controlled in the following way. An adjusting plate 32 with a peripheral flange 33 is mounted on the pocket-wheel coaxially with it. The inner surface of the peripheral flange 33 is formed as a controlling cam surface. Each of the sliding blocks 2% associated with the respective pockets of the wheel is formed with a projection 3 3 arranged to engage the inner surface of the flange 33, thereby limiting outward movement of the block under the action of the spring. The inner surface of the peripheral flange comrises four operative cam surfaces 35 extending circumferentially of the control plate, one cam surface for each pocket. As shown in Figure 1 each of the cam surfaces 35 varies progressively in its distance from the axis of rotation of the pocket-wheel, so that by rotational adjustment of the control plate 32 the minimum separation between the jaws of each of the pockets is simultaneously adjustable to any required extent within a given range. The control plate 32 is adapted to be locked to the pocket-wheel by means of bolts 36. While the machine is operating, the control plate 32 rotates solid with the pocket wheel; when adjustment in the minimum separation between the jaws of the pockets is to be made the bolts 36 are slackened, the control plate is moved angularly to the desired extent, and is then again clamped in its re-adjusted position to the pocket-Wheel.

The normal opening and closing movements of the pocket jaws during the operation of the ma chine are effected by striking mechanism arranged in the following manner. When a pocket arrives at the feed station, a striker 46 carried on a lever 4i pivotally mounted at 42 is operated 'to engage the outer end of the sliding block 28 associated with the downwardly directed pocket and to push this block inwardly, thus opening the pocket jaws in readiness to receive the sweetmeat and its wrapper which at this stage are under the control of the ascending pusher fl and the transfer finger 2|. The striker it is then actuated to disengage the sliding block and permit the jaws to approach and grip the sweetmeat, and preferably this action is so timed that the disengagement of the sliding block takes place slightly before the pusher has reached its uppermost position. In this way there is obtained a stroking action of the jaws upon the wrapper tending to pull the latter tightly over the top and around two opposite sides of the sweetmeat. At the ejection station 23 the pocket jaWs are opened to release the article by a second striker 43 which is operated to engage the sliding block 29 appropriate to the pocket at the ejection station and to move this block inwardly to open the pocket jaws. separation between the pocket jaws, by angular adjustment of the control plate 32 will change the position of the associated sliding blocks 29 in relation to the strikers 40, 43, it is necessary, after each adjustment as aforesaid, to retime the strikers. For this purpose the strikers are operated, by push rods 44, 45 the effective lengths of which are adjustable to enable the necessary alteration in timing to be effected. The push rods are coupled to rocking levers 45, 5'! which in turn are coupled to eccentric straps 48, 49 driven in timed sequence with the pocket-wheel.

By means of the pocket-wheel construction according to this invention any size of article within a given range may be dealt with and the necessary adjustment of the pockets is simultaneously effected by means of the controlling plate to an extent which may be determined by presenting an article to one of the pockets when the latter is in the closed position.

I claim:-

1. In a wrapping machine of the type described, the combination of a rotatable pocket-wheel having a plurality of article-receiving pockets each of which comprises a pair of relatively movable gripper jaws, and a single control means common to the several pockets and operable at will to vary, simultaneously in all the pockets the minimum separation between the elements of each pair of jaws.

2. A wrapping machine of the type described comprising a rotatable pocket-wheel having a plurality of pockets each of which comprises a pair of relatively movable gripper jaws, a toggle linkage for each pocket interconnecting the jaws thereof, and a single control means common to the several pockets and operable on the toggle linkages associated therewith simultaneously to vary the minimum separation between the elements of each pair of pocket jaws.

3. A wrapping machine of the type described comprising a rotatable pocket-wheel having a plurality of pockets each of which comprises a pair of relatively movable gripper jaws, a toggle linkage for each pocket interconnecting the jaws thereof, and a cam which is carried by the pocketwheel and angularly adjustable in respect to it Since a variation in the minimum about the wheel axis and which is arranged to operate simultaneously on the toggle linkages associated with the several pockets to vary the minimum separation between the elements of each pair of pocket jaws.

4. A wrapping machine of the type described comprising a rotatable pocket-wheel having a plurality of pockets each of which comprises a pair of relatively movable gripper jaws, a toggle linkage for each pocket interconnecting the jaws thereof, spring means bearing on each toggle linkage and tending to move the pocket jaws towards one another, a cam which is carried by the pocket-wheel and is angularly adjustable with respect to it and which provides a plurality of cam surfaces one for each pocket, and a cam follower on each toggle linkage engaging the corresponding cam surface on the angularly adjustable cam to limit the degree of approach of the pocket jaws to an extent determined by the setting of the cam.

5. In a wrapping machine of the type described, the combination of a pocket-wheel having a plurality of article-receiving pockets each constituted by relatively movable jaws, spring means tending to effect movement of the jaws of each pocket towards one another, and control means for adjustably limiting the degree of approach of the pocket jaws comprising an annular cam mounted on the pocket-wheel and angularly adjustable with respect thereto about the wheel axis, said cam being divided circumierentially into a plurality of cam surfaces corresponding in number to the pockets of the wheel, the several cam surfaces being of the same contour, and each vary-, ing from point to point along its circumferential path progressively in distance from the axis of the pocket-wheel, and for each pocket a cam follower engaging the appropriate cam surface and so interconnected with the corresponding pocket jaws as to limit the degree of approach of the latter to an extent determined by the angular setting of the cam.

6. A wrapping machine as claimed in claim 2 combined with striker mechanism operable on the toggle linkages associated with the wheel pockets to open the gripper jaws for receiving an article to be wrapped and for releasing the article after wrapping has been completed.

7. A wrapping machine as claimed in. claim 2 combined with striker mechanism operable on the toggle linkages associated with the wheel pockets periodically to open the gripper jaws, and actuating means for the striker mechanism which is adjustable to vary the timing of the strikers to compensate for any variation effected in the minimum separation between the jaws of the pockets.

8. A wrapping machine of the type described comprising a rotatable pocket-wheel having a plurality of pockets each of which is formed by two pivotally mounted grippers movable towards and away from one another, a toggle linkage for each pocket interconnecting the two grippers, a slide-block carried at the pivotal connection between the toggle links of each linkage and slidable in a radial guide slot in the pocket-Wheel, a control spring in compression between the inner end of each radial slot and the inner end of the corresponding slide-block tending to force the latter radially outwards to draw the pocket jaws together, a cam plate angularly adjustable with respect to the pocket-wheel and providing a plurality of cam surfaces one for each pocket, a cam follower associated with each of the sliding blocks aforesaid and engaging the cam surface appropriate to the corresponding pocket to limit the outward movement of the block under the action of its control spring, and striker mechanism operable on the outer ends of the sliding blocks to effect the opening movements of the pocket jaws during the operation of the machine.

ALFRED GERMAN ROSE. 

